High quality information display such as high contrast ratio and gray-scale stability can be obtained only within a narrow range of viewing angles centered about the normal incidence in conventional LCDs. The angular dependence of the viewing is due to the fact that both the phase retardation and optical path in most LC cells are functions of viewing angles. The narrow viewing angle characteristics have been a significant problem in advanced applications such as avionics displays and wide-screen displays, which require LCDs whose contrast and gray scale must be as invariant as possible with respect to viewing angle.
Accordingly, there is a need of further development in LCDs for high performance applications. The present invention provides a solution to the prior art problem by providing retardation films to achieve high contrast ratios and gray-scale level stability in LCDs.